Tom Wilson reached a personal milestone against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
Wilson, a veteran of nine NHL seasons, set a new career high in points (45). There are 16 games left to go in the 2021-22 campaign.
tic-tac-toe ✔️
Mantha gets Washington on the board first! Caps lead 1-0. pic.twitter.com/OWmpJHXAE6
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 25, 2022
Wilson’s milestone point came on a secondary assist on an Anthony Mantha tic-tac-toe goal. Nicklas Backstrom got the primary assist via a perfect setup pass to Mojo (not Mojo).
Tom now has 19 goals and 26 assists in 62 games this season. The 26 assists are already a career high. Tom needs three more goals to tie his high-water mark in tallies that he set in the 2018-19 season (22).
Wilson began the season on fire playing a pivotal role on the NHL’s best five-on-five line. He scored 25 points (9g, 16a) in the first 32 games as Alex Ovechkin got early Hart Trophy consideration.
Wilson scored in three straight games twice this season (Nov. 21-26; Jan. 15-18) on his way to his first All-Star Game appearance, where he also became the ninth player in Capitals history to score a goal.
CAPS TODAY: Tom Wilson became one of nine players in franchise history with an All-Star Game goal, while Evgeny Kuznetsov became one of three to record multiple All-Star goals in his career. More info on the #Caps All-Stars and Caps Clips at https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/W09BYi0iOy
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 7, 2022
Tom also became the fifth-youngest player in Capitals history to play 600 games this season.
Tom Wilson will play in his 600th career game tonight. Wilson is the fifth-youngest player to reach the milestone in franchise history and the third-youngest forward, behind Mike Gartner (27 years, 109 days) and Alex Ovechkin (27 years, 220 days). pic.twitter.com/HA2TU002ii
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) January 8, 2022
Some NHL fans would say Tom’s all ham, no honey. But he is one of only four players in the NHL this season with at least 40 points and 75 penalty minutes. Wilson may not the best goal scorer in the league like David Pastrnak said, but he’s definitely one of the best power forwards.
Congratulations, Tom.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
